US Representatives Undermine Obama’s Immigration Policy

Spanish On January 15, 2015, the US House of Representatives passed a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) until the end of fiscal year 2015, including several controversial amendments that override President Barack Obama’s previous executive actions on immigration.

The bill includes provisions against any similar executive action, stating that “the Executive Branch should refrain from pursuing policies, such as granting deferred action under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program and work authorization to unlawfully present individuals, that disadvantage the hiring of United States citizens and those in a lawful immigration status in the United States.”

In the 2014 midterm elections, the GOP won several House seats, giving them a 246 over 188 advantage. Although the Republicans have a majority in the both House and the Senate, the Democratic Party has enough Senators to effectively block the bill through a filibuster. According to GovTrack.us, the bill currently has a 44 percent chance of being enacted.

However, even if it were to pass in the Senate, White House sources have promised that Obama would veto it. Celia Munoz, White House domestic policy director told press that the Obama administration was “confident that we are going to implementing these executive actions.”

The last time a comprehensive immigration bill was passed was in 1986. Earlier efforts to reform the bill stalled in 2013, largely due to Republican opposition.

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